The Twelve Powers

According to the teachings of Unity, also known as the Unity School of Christianity, there are twelve powers working in our lives at all times. They were codified by Unity's co-founder, Charles Fillmore, based on his own religious and metaphysical studies and meditations. These twelve powers humankind shares with the divine superconsciousness, God. The believer can direct and call upon these powers when s/he needs to tackle challenges in his/her daily life. To facilitate meditation, traditionally these powers have been associated with various colors and nerve centers in the body. Many people call upon a particular power by concentrating on that part of the body or that color in their prayers. Also, these powers correspond metaphorically to the twelve apostles.

The following list comes from Unity teaching , but the commentary, unless cited, is my own based on my own experiences. YMMV.

Faith. This power is associated with deep blue and the Apostle Peter. The focus of one's meditation on faith should center in the middle of the brain. "It is a deep inner knowing that that which is sought is already ours for the taking...." (from Keep a True Lent by Charles Fillmore.) By means of meditating on our faith, we surrender our willful and proud need to be in control and yield to supreme consciousness, the singular power in our lives, God.

James, son of Zebedee, serves as the apostle for our power of Judgement. Imagine yellow. In our bodies, we imagine this power radiating from pit of the stomach. This is judgement in the sense of discrimination and evaluation rather than condemnation or blame. Always loving and even-tempered, judgement represents the free will given to us by God to choose our own destiny.

Love is the power at the center of our being, and it is visualized as residing at the back of the heart. During meditation, it is helpful to imagine pink. The apostle John is associated with this power. This is spiritual, rather than erotic, love. It is unconditional acceptance and forgiveness. If we truly believe that God is love, then this the highest power we can call upon.

When we need to call upon Power, visualize purple. Remember the apostle Philip. Focus your attention on the root of the tongue. This power represents power over our own thoughts and feelings, not people. It is our command over the surging tides of our desires. Think of it as the loving discipline one gives to an unruly child. In exercising power, we redirect ourselves to higher purposes and away from self-destructive or unprofitable activity. We realize this power when we join our mind with God's.

Do not forget Imagination. To empower your imagination, picture yourself in light blue light. Or call upon the apostle Bartholomew. Center your attention on the area between the eyes. Remember that everything we see in the world was created twice: first in the mind (humankind's or God's), then in the outer world. Everything has its genesis in the imagination, only then is it realized. We fully realize our creative power when we tune into the source of all things, the Creator.

Key to dealing with our fellow humans is Understanding. Unity associates this power with the color gold and the apostle Thomas. This power is centered in the front of the brain. Here sits our insight and enlightenment. Understanding is our knowledge that is beyond the accumulation of facts, but the full knowing of that which is, seeing past illusion and pretense. When we call upon our understanding, we are daring to peek at truth.

When we have trouble making decisions we can call on the power of our Will. Its color is silver and its apostle is Matthew. Picture it in the center front of the brain. This is the choosing, decision making part of the mind. It is the part that says this way and not that way.

We have within us the power of Order. Think green. Consider James, son of Alphaeus. Center your meditation on your navel. This faculty seeks organization, harmony, and balance in our lives and calling upon this power reveals the way to these ends. We accept that so many things in the world are beyond our control, and control is not what this power is about. Rather it is setting things in a predictable pattern before us, to ease our own minds, to simplify our activities, to eliminate clutter. Order enables us to more efficiently achieve that which is ours to do.

What are all these things without Zeal? Picture the vibrant color orange. Simon is the apostle associated with this power. Zeal is centered in the medulla. This is our motivation and intensity. It is the motive power, fueling us with energy and heating our love. Living a loving, intentional life means not merely being spiritually alive but active and energetic. All of these powers without action are dusty academic theory.

Just like the E2 Nuke Request is as vital to the health of Everything2 as noding, Elimination is especially important to our spiritual health. This represents our ability to reject and release old beliefs and negative thoughts. It maybe helpful to visualize a deep russet color. Elimination's apostle is Thaddeus and its nerve center is within the abdomen. We make room for the positive by denying the negative. Without elimination, our souls become "constipated" with false beliefs and old tapes that have outlived their usefulness. By intentionally getting rid of them, we clear the way for new choices, new viewpoints, new outlooks.

Last but not least is the power of Life. Life's color is blood red. For reasons I don't understand, Unity associates this power with Judas. Its nerve center is within the generative functions. Vitality and good health are at the core of this power. It is the power that directs us to make healthy choices about what we put into and how we treat our bodies. The power of Life directs us to lose those extra pounds, don't drink those last few beers, eat a salad instead of the steak. This power also rewards us with the pleasant feelings of health, energy, robustness, and vigor.

There is a guided meditation that goes through all twelve of these powers. It is long and difficult but very rewarding. I will node it soon when I figure out whether noding it would be a copyright problem.